Spire Gatwick Park Hospital, part of Spire Healthcare, has recently installed its first MAGNETOM Skyra 3T MR system.
Manufactured by Siemens Healthcare, the system was formally unveiled by former English rugby union player, Austin Healey.
Having used a previous-generation Siemens system, the MAGNETOM Symphony 1.5T, for more than nine years, Spire Gatwick sought a replacement state-of-the-art system to expand its service provision. This is expected to include cardiac MR procedures, whole-body imaging, whole-body diffusion and cartilage imaging.
The Skyra will also continue to cater for the hospital’s standard MR imaging workload such as neurological, musculoskeletal and oncology procedures. As the first of its kind within the Spire group, it is hoped the system’s advanced image acquisition times and resolution will also help to reduce the time of procedures and assist with patient throughput.
The Skyra is expected to enhance patient acceptability with its 70cm Open Bore design, suitable for a variety of patient sizes. The system employs Day Optimising Throughput (DOT) technology, providing the hospital with patient personalisation options, user guidance and examination automation to help optimise workflow. This sits alongside total imaging matrix (TIM 4G) functionality, designed to assist with the rapid acquisition of high resolution images. It offers up to 204 coil elements linked to 48 channels (option available up to 128 channels) for flexible parallel imaging and excellent image quality.
“Our previous Siemens MR system imaged in excess of 27,000 patients,” said David Hillier, lead CT / MRI radiographer at Spire Gatwick Park Hospital. “Having first seen the Skyra at the Radiological Society of North America 2013 Annual Meeting , we decided it was a natural progression of our offering and would fit with our dedication to providing a rapid, top-class service. We look forward to reaping the rewards, not only in terms of improved image quality, but also increased speed to boost patient throughput. We also expect patient acceptance to increase due to a more comfortable experience with the system’s 70cm wide bore.”